Jack Teixeira, suspect in Pentagon leaks, charged under US Espionage Act

Jack Teixeira, a man arrested the air national guardson suspicion of leaking hundreds of secret defence documents, has been charged in a Boston court on two counts under the Espionage Act as Washington reeled from the fallout of the worst leaks of US intelligence in at least a decade

- Edward Helmore,Julian Borger

The clean-cut 21-year-old was brought into court in a beige jumpsuit, and his handcuffs were removed by a bailiff. He sat quietly, turning only once to three family members to smile weakly.

During the brief hearing, the US prosecutor Nadine Pellegrini said the government would seek 10 years on each of the charges Teixeira faces. He was not required to enter a plea. That is likely to come at his next appearance, on Wednesday, when the presiding US judge, David Hennessy, will hear arguments over his detention ahead of a trial.